Mondeo rear bearing greasing, is this possible?

Question

Hi... I have a ford mondeo mk1 zetec 1.8. It has drum brakes at the back, and somethings squeaking as the rear wheels turn, much like the mid pitched squeak you'd get from a bicycle. Is it possible to sort this out with grease or is something worse wrong. When I jack the car off the ground and turn the wheel, nothing can be heard.

Answer 1

it may be the brake shoes down to the metal..or the shoe locating pins have come away ...if the bearings are squeeling there already shafted and no grease will fix them.....stick new ones in[£14 per side]...easy to do

Answer 2

Hi, firstly, a wheel bearing would tend to make a rumbling or grating noise rather than a squeak. From your description, I would say you have a build-up of brake dust in the rear drums, all you would need to do is to take the drums off and use an aerosol can of Brake cleaner, then wipe clean. Do not be tempted to brush the dust out "dry" as this may cause breathing problems. Another cause may be one of the springs that keep the brake shoes in place rubbing against the drum - look for bright polished sections of the springs where the paint has been rubbed off, and gently ease the spring away from the drum.

Hope this helps - good luck!

Answer 3

When wheel bearings have gone on my Mondeo there was a rumble rather than a squeak. As far as I know you can't grease the bearings as they are sealed.

Sounds a lot more likely that the brakes are rubbing. Does the sound change or go away if you put your foot on the brake gently? If so it's unlikely to be the bearing.

I suppose when you jack the car up it's possible that you won't get the brake rubbing because there is no weight on it.

I also discovered that the old "rocking the wheel" trick to see if there is play in the bearing didn't work. There was no play at all but the bearing was b****d.

Not being funny but you should check that the wheel nuts are tight.

Good luck!